Mayfield Road Exit Ramps are Source of Accidents

Right turns on red may no longer be allowed at the Interstate 271 exit ramps on Mayfield Road because of the number of accidents that have occurred.

Sgt. Robert Bandelow of the Police Department said there have 69 accidents on the ramps this year, with only one resulting in an injury. He said most are slow-speed, rear-end crashes where the second car in line hits the car in front as they are looking over their left shoulder for oncoming traffic.

"They're minor accidents, but you're still spending $1,000 whenever you replace your back bumper," Bandelow said.

Bandelow said police noticed the problem when construction was completed on Mayfield. Previously, there had been yield signs at three of the exit ramps and that also resulted in rear-end crashes, he said. Only the ramp on the southeast side of the Mayfield/I-271 interchange had a traffic signal and no turn on red sign because of the proximity of Parker Drive.

Mayfield Heights has had 744 reported accidents this year, so about 15 percent are at the exit ramps. Bandelow said the problem can be corrected by eliminating right turns on red, which might then cause traffic to back up to the highway. That also had the potential to cause accidents because the ramps have blind curves and drivers might not be able to see stopped cars.

Another solution would be to straighten out the ramps so they form a "T" intersection at Mayfield. However, Bandelow said that would be costly.

The ramps are controlled through the Ohio Department of Transportation in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which receives crash information. Bandelow said he will send a report at the end of the year for consideration of possible solutions to the accident problem.